Oakland Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs Match Player Stats On Jan 03, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Jan 3, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo – The Kansas City Chiefs won a 10th consecutive game to earn a spot in the AFC playoffs with their 23-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs earned No. 5 seed in the AFC and travel to face the Texans in Houston on wild-card weekend. It's their second trip to the postseason in Reid's three years as the Chiefs head coach.

The Chiefs beat Houston 27-20 in Week 1 of the 2015 season.

Kansas City started the day with a chance to grab the AFC West title if they beat Oakland and Denver lost at home to San Diego. On orders of Reid, the folks inside Arrowhead were kept in the dark about developments in Denver until the victory was assured for the Chiefs.

Denver rallied behind Peyton Manning to beat San Diego, 27-20, and lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The Chiefs opened the season 1-5. They are the first team since the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals to start 1-5 and reach the playoffs.

The Chiefs got the jump on the Raiders from the first kickoff, scoring on their first two possessions.

Smith connected with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin on a 25-yard touchdown pass, and then fullback Spencer Ware capped a 12-play drive with a 3-yard run to the end zone. The score was 14-0 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter and it appeared like it was going to be along afternoon for Oakland.

But the Chiefs kept their visitors in the game, as the normally accurate Smith threw a pair of interceptions within a three-minute period of the second quarter. He was picked first by cornerback T.J. Carrie, and then cornerback David Amerson grabbed a Smith throw at the Chiefs 24-yard line and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Throw in a PAT kick and a 29-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski and the score was 14-10 at intermission.

But the Chiefs jumped to the lead in the third quarter thanks to a special teams play and the offense. K.C.'s punt defense was close all day to blocking kicks from Oakland punter Marquette King. Rookie linebacker D.J. Alexander was not blocked on his rush and he got his hands on the punt, knocking the ball out of the end zone for a safety.

The offense was gifted with great starting field position at their 47-yard line when the Raiders kicked off after the two-pointer. It was four plays later that Smith connected with tight end Demetrius Harris on a 15-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick gave the Chiefs a 23-10 lead midway through the third quarter.

Both defenses dominated the rest of the second half, until the Raiders punched in their first offensive touchdown of the game, as quarterback David Carr tossed a TD pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree from 31 yards away. With two minutes to play.

NOTES: Chiefs D.J. Alexander left the game in the first half and was evaluated for a possible concussion. But he passed the exam and was back on the field for the second half. … The Chiefs held their annual alumni player gathering as over 80 former players were in attendance. They honored their 2015 Chiefs Hall of Fame inductee, cornerback Gary Green. … Raiders S Charles Woodson began his NFL career with the Raiders in Arrowhead back in 1998. There for that game, and also on the field for his last game, was head linesman George Hayward from nearby St. Joseph, Mo.